Baking Halloween cookies is fun for the whole family! Children in particular are happyCut out cookies in different shapes. We'll show you a great recipe for rolling out cookie dough and also give you some tips on what you should pay attention to when preparing the icing. There are also a few ideas for spooky Halloween cookies for inspiration!
The easiest cookie dough recipe
Shortbreads are perfect for your Halloween cookies. In their simplest form, they are made with just three ingredients: butter, sugar and flour. The secret to delicious shortbread cookies is using a high-quality butter with a higher butterfat content. It is also recommended to sift the flour and icing sugar to avoid lumps in the dough.
Recipe for shortbread dough without eggs:
260 g Allzweckmehl
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
225 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
60 grams of powdered sugar, sifted
*This recipe makes approximately 28 cookies with a diameter of 6.5 cm.
preparation:
– Mix the flour with the salt in a bowl.
– In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and creamy (approx. 1 minute).
– Add the sugar and stir briefly.
– Add the flour and salt mixture and stir until a dough forms.
– Divide the dough in half and then roll each half between two layers of baking paper until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
– Place the dough on a baking tray (along with the baking paper) and put the whole thing in the fridge for approx. 30-60 minutes.
Cookie cutters come in a variety of shapes and materials for every occasion! Of course, the most popular cookie cutters for Halloween include the witch hat, pumpkin, bat, black cat, ghost and skull. These are also easy to find as a set. However, if you don't have special Halloween cookie cutters, you can simply use a round or oval cookie cutter or even a water glass. After that, you can just get creative with the glaze.
– Cut the cooled shortbread dough into circles or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter. Spread on a baking tray lined with baking paper at a distance of approx. 5 cm from each other. Collect the leftover dough and roll it out again.
– Put the cookies back in the fridge (this will firm up the dough so the cookies keep their shape when baking).
– In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180 °C top/bottom heat. Place the rack in the middle of the oven.
– Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned (the longer the cookies are baked, the crispier they will be). Allow to cool on a rack before decorating.
*Tipp: If you want to make these cookies ahead of time, you can chill the dough in the refrigerator for up to two days. If you bake the cookies the same day you make the dough, you can store the cookies in an airtight container for up to a week. By the way, shortbread cookies can also be frozen.
Make icing to decorate cookies
It is usually used to decorate cookiesIcing (Royal Icing)used. The white icing made from egg whites and powdered sugar is then colored to the desired color using food coloring. Black, white and orange are the most commonly used colors for Halloween cookies. For example, if you want to use green or purple, you can mix blue and yellow (for green) or blue and pink (for purple). You can adjust the color intensity by adding more or less food coloring.
For the glaze:
3 egg whites
480 g sifted powdered sugar
0,5 TL Weinsteinpulver
optional: a few drops of lemon juice
The right consistency
To achieve a smooth “flood” icing, you will need to thin the thick icing with room temperature water. It is recommended to use a spray bottle to add water while achieving the right consistency. The spray bottle simply allows you to better control the amount of water added. Too much water at once can quickly lead to an icing that is too thin. However, if your icing has become too thin, you can add a little more sifted powdered sugar, about 2 tablespoons per cup of icing.
To achieve a smooth, satin-like finish, you'll need to use a piped icing that's runny enough to cover the surface of the cookies with a thin, smooth layer of frosting. To determine the right consistency, you can use the so-called 15 second rule. The seconds refer to the time it takes for everything to flow back together after you drag a spatula through the icing. Count how long it takes for the icing to be smooth again. If you need a consistency of 15 seconds, that means you need to add a little more water. And vice versa.
If the line disappears within 15-20 seconds, the consistency of the royal icing is just right. 15 seconds is considered the perfect filling icing for cookies. This is a little thicker than 10 seconds, doesn't spread too quickly and is great for both the outlines and filling the cookies.
When painting cookies with icing, the following applies:First pipe the contours of the cookies and let the icing set for a few minutes. The remaining casting is then diluted with a little water. The inside surfaces of the cookies are then filled with the thinned icing. It's best to let the icing dry overnight.
How do I make deep black icing?
Add black gel food coloring to the white icing and stir well until the icing turns dark gray. Then cover the bowl and let it rest overnight or at least a few hours. The color deepens significantly over time, so you don't need to use excessive amounts of food coloring.
To decorate the Halloween cookies, you will of course also need piping bags or icing pens for filling. For very fine lines, you can also use a very thin perforated nozzle, also known as a writing nozzle. Otherwise, you can also make your own piping bags using common household utensils, such as baking paper or a freezer bag.In this articleyou can read more about the different piping nozzles.
These cookies may look difficult, but they are very simple. You just have to follow the steps: start with the body, which will be covered with sprinkles and then make the wings and eyes. It really is that simple! The sprinkles add great texture to the body - and give the cookies a 3D look to make them look special.
You need:
frosting
Black sugar sprinkles
Black food coloring
2 piping bags
Sugar eyes
Scissors
baking paper
Preparation: Pour a small amount of the white icing into a piping bag. You will use these for the eyes and color the remaining frosting dark gray. To make it deep black, you should let it stand a little longer. Pour the black icing into a piping bag as well. To decorate the cookies, cut off a small corner.
Step 1:First, pipe the gray icing over the bat's body and then sprinkle the black sugar sprinkles onto the still wet icing.
Step 2:Now decorate the wings with the same black/gray icing.
Step 3:Finally, make the eyes with the white icing and then finish with black/gray dots.
Ready– it's very simple, but they look great!
Zombie Kekse
These zombie cookies are definitely going to be a good oneDecoration on the Halloween tablebe. This example shows that you don't need special Halloween cookie cutters to creatively paint the cookies. Egg and acorn-shaped cookie cutters are used here. These also happen to be perfect for zombie heads! So first just rummage through your kitchen drawer.
Painting cookies as zombies – this is how it works:
Mix up a pipeable icing and divide it into 4 separate bowls. To do this, add a small shot of each of the desired gel food colors: green, pink, black and white. Let the frosting sit for a while and wait for the air bubbles to rise to the surface. Then pull a toothpick through the glaze and check the consistency.
*A notice:After each step, wait for the icing to dry a little or the colors will mix!
– Cover most of the surface of the cookie with greenery, leaving room for the brain.
– Using pink paint, make the first part of the brain. Simply draw a wavy line.
– Once the first line has hardened a bit, fill in the remaining holes in the brain.
– Then use black to create the basis for the eyes, nose and mouth. Now let the icing dry a little longer, otherwise the white icing will discolor!
– Draw teeth and eyeballs with white. Allow to dry longer.
– To give the zombies an expression, spray two more dots of black for the pupils.
*To make it look even more realistic and spooky, you can trace the lines of the brain using a thin brush and red food coloring.
Sugar Skull Cakes
If you want to get creative and work with lots of colors of icing, these sugar skulls are for you. Find images of other sugar skulls to use as templates and inspiration, or just let your imagination run wild!
Tipp:You can pull the still liquid icing together with a toothpick.
If you don't have a skull cookie cutter, you can use a paper template
